Marketing Hype: A New Perspective for New Product Research and Introduction

Marketing research procedures typically used to support new product development activities often emphasize the collection of data from potential customers, even when the product success depends on the decisions of a number of key stakeholders such as distributors, media, etc. Consequently, most conventional product introduction efforts focus on a target customer segment and ignore the needs of other stakeholders. These narrowly concentrated research efforts can lead to unfounded expectations regarding the product performance. Similarly, the lopsided focus on consumers can lead to reduced marketing effectiveness. Jerry Wind and Vijay Mahajan argue for the recognition of the process of “marketing hype,” a set of prelaunch activities leading to the creation of a supportive market environment. This can lead to the creation of broader strategies that focus on the key stakeholders as subjects for new product research, and targets for the introductory marketing programs. This could lead to a richer understanding of the intergroup influences on the adoption of the new product and increase the chances of a successful new product launch.